Hiding the Wolf in me [On Hold] (Incomplete & Unedited)

Chapter 2

a/n ~ my interpretation of Ethan to the right :D remembers, if yar dunneh likes him that way, just imagine him however yar want :P

hope yar enjoys

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I blinked in shock as I stared open-mouthed at the guy in front of me. My first thought was "Has something happened to Seth?" , but even as I thought it I knew it was a silly question - If something HAD happened then I would have known right away. Seth's my mate, and he's the alpha of his pack over in Ireland where my dad's aunt lives. A few years ago my great aunt invited us yo go visit her in Ireland, and after a few months of saturday jobs for me and my brothers and overtime for mom and dad, we were able to visit.

I'd gone off wandering - again - after an argument with my mum when I bumped into Seth in the village. I fell on my butt and he helped me up, with plenty of glares from me until I'd felt the tingles in my fingers spread up my arms and whisper around my heart. That was how I found my mate and found out I'm a werewolf. None of my family were - we checked - but apparently it's an unpredictable trait and isn't always passed down from parent to child, though it can be.

Seth and I spent most of the time we had spare with each other for the rest of my visit, and we became good friends as well as true mates. It all kind of confused me seeing the whole 'I'm bound to him, he's bound to me' thing, because I honestly would have thought we'd be friends maybe at first, but no - we just had to be those sucky ones who fall head over heels for their mate straight away and have to fight our hormones [ and wolf's] when we saw each other so we didn't jump each others' bones. Stupid hormones!

Anyway, although we may be separated by a bit of stupid sea and a good few miles, our bond always allowed me to know whether he was okay or not, and vice versa. I jumped to the question of why my mate's cousin is here, if not to bring news of Seth to me, but moments later I was distracted by a feeling I'd felt only once before, and my heart shook with confusion, longing and fear.

I heard a low grumble from his chest and one echoed from mine before I could stop it, the tingles dancing around my heart distracted me from everything else.

'My mate' he breathed so quietly I shouldn't have been able to hear it, but it seemed to carry on a breeze towards me and I closed my eyes in happiness as the words wrapped around me. My mate, I thought with confidence as I opened my eyes and looked at him again.

He looks a lot like Seth - same colour hair but shorter, a heart-stopping smile, similar heights although Seth was probably a few inches taller and a little more muscled. I had to mentally shake myself as I realised my eyes were glued the guys abs that his tight fit shirt was showing off nicely. I was fantasising of trailing my hands across his gorgeous abs when I looked back into his eyes, eyes exactly the same as Seth's but blue, and I jerked back with shock and guilt.

I shouldn't be doing this, I thought shakily to myself . Hell, I already HAVE a mate , I don't need another, and just how? Seth told me we only ever have one true mate , so how on Earth have I ended up with two at the same time?! Shaking visibly at the torrent of emotions rushing through me I ran a hand through my hair, then let it fall and glared at the guy as he reached a hand out towards me, as if to stroke my arm or something..

"Back off" I snapped dangerously at him and he withdrew his hands, instead raising both of them in the air by his head in surrender, but I could see him wanting to be close to me and I had to fight the same urge too. Grr ! Why couldn't this just work out ?

With that last thought I stormed off, forgetting that I'd left Yvonne behind for a moment, but when I remembered I thought what the hell. It's not like she's actually gonna notice I'm gone whilst she's with Luca. I mean, she hasn't seen him all weekend and they're in that honeymoony stage where ever minute matters. Eugh. I rolled my eyes. I wasn't going back there, not after that childish exit I just did - but hey, who can blame me? That guy just kicked me in the stomach with a ball and tried to touch me!

True it was only my arm he was reaching for, and yeah, so I don't really know who kicked the ball but I'm betting it was him. I let useless babble fill my head as I walked quickly across the playground and round the corner to the area outside the science labs where I usually hung with my friends. I barely noticed that I was all but jogging, nor that I'd almost walked right past where my friends where until I heard one of my friends calling out my name, bringing me back to reality.

With a sharp turn that almost caused me to slide on the wet ground I turned to my left and walked over to my friends, plastering a big smile on me face as I flopped down like I usually did and started babbling about some random thing or other. That was who I was and how I acted, and my friends would know something was up if I didn't act 'normal' - well, normal for me anyway.

I knew the instant he walked over but I didn't turn round to face him. Instead I continued babbling about some random animé I'd been watching last night, using exaggerated words with exaggerated emotions. I paused a second as Yvonne and Luca plopped down next to me to say hi to them then I was off again.

I felt a slight nudging in my head as someone tried to push through the mental fog that surrounds my mind, but it thickened, keeping him out. I didn't have to search through the persons mind to know it was him, I just knew it was.

"Ethan..." His name breezed through my mind like a glittery wind and I almost laughed as I imagined him as one of those tinsel-fairy's who have the nerve to call themselves vampires - aka the vampires from the twilight saga. I mean sure, they have to drink blood to survive but HELLO -  only pixie dust sparkles!

From the side of my eye i saw Natasha looking at me weirdly and I knew it was because of my expression as I tried to hold back my laughter, so I smiled like the crazy Saph that I am. She smiled back and after a few seconds she looked away and started joking with Joanna, her bff since the since they started primary school.

I could sense Ethans scent and his presence in my head and It was driving me crazy, knowing he was so close yet not close enough. After a quick and hopefully subtle glance around me I sniffed lightly and closed my eyes as I was rushed by an overwhelming mixture of scents as I let my wolf sniff around, searching for Ethan.

The instant I recognised his scent amongst those around me I let out a sigh of content, just relaxing with his scent. I could smell the anger coming off of him in harsh bitter waves, but there was something else, something else under that anger that made me search deeper, my curiosity burning in me making me need to know what it was. It was familiar and yet so, so strange. It was as if I'd known it once long ago but I'd forgotten it over time. What could it be? I growled to myself, irritation rippling through me giving me a desperate edge to know just what on earth that smell is.

Concentrating my wolf harder I sniffed again, blocking out all the world but his presence and his scent. I wrapped it around inside my mind and broke it down, breaking it down into components. Searching through them carefully, my eyes still closed, I identified each one perfectly before moving to the next ; I smelt anger and longing, confusion and a very small bit of fear. I was about to see if i could jump into his mind like i could with Seth, so I could find out just why he felt scared when I caught one smell that rooted my mental self in place.

I took a deep breath then I focused on that one warm, kind of musky scent, breathing it deeply and felt my heart slam in my chest. It was the scent I'd noticed earlier - the one under his anger- but I hadn't been able to place it. Now I could.

My mind flashed back to when I was 5 years old and my school teacher had told me stories about a group of people called shape-shifters and one specific type called were-cats. I'd listened in silence as he spun a world of magical beings and power, loving the stories he told me, and that these people - theses shape-shifters or were-cats - had the ability to turn themselves into them. Some could only turn into house cats, some into the great hunters of the wild, but some never turned. Not knowing of their powers or how to use them they lived a human life never knowing their inner cat. Back then i thought it was just a story he told me to keep me from running around and annoying the other kids as I often did, and so I forgot it after a few weeks.

Now I knew better though. Not only was I sure that his story was true but I now understood why he told me it. He didn't want me to have to live a human life because I'm a werecat, just like Ethan.